Biodiversity, health and wellbeing in Cornwall’s Public Open Space

Since 2015, we have been working with colleagues at Cornwall Council on a project Biodiversity, Health and Wellbeing in Cornwall’s Public Open Space, instigated by the Council’s ecology and public open spaces teams. The idea behind this work has been to use our research on these topics to help inform how Cornwall’s public open spaces are managed and invested in, for the benefit of both biodiversity and people’s health and wellbeing. We’ve undertaken various collaborative activities with the support of funding from the University of Exeter’s ESRC Impact Acceleration Account.

The evidence report cards bring together the most recent social and natural science research from the University of Exeter and elsewhere in summary format, with the aim of helping to inform the planning and management of public open space in Cornwall and beyond:

Looking to the future, Cornwall Council have recently been awarded European Regional Development Funds for a project called ‘Green Infrastructure for Growth’, investing in public recreational areas, roadside verges and old churchyards to make them better places for people and for wildlife. Our collaboration will continue, and existing and new research should help to ensure that we make the most of the opportunities afforded by our immensely valuable public open spaces.

We hope that the evidence report cards will prove useful for other organisations, policy and practice outside of Cornwall. We’d love to hear any feedback, and if you want to make use of them please feel free to contact Ben Wheeler at b.w.wheeler@exeter.ac.uk